Method and apparatus for cleaning spinning frames



July 25, 1950 c. DE V..M1LLER El'AL METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CLEANING SPINNING FRAMES 8 Sheets-Shet 1 Filed Jan. 10, 1949 y 1950 c. DE v. MILLER EFAL. 2,516,475

us'mon AND APPARATUS FOR CLEANING; SPINNING FRAIIES Filed Jan. 10. 1949 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR, (EDI-L DIM MILLER J FRANK IS N- BfC'KEB I r OE/VE Y y 1950 c. DE, v. MILLER El AL 2,516,475

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CLEANING SPINNING FRAMES Filed Jan. 10, 1949 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 N 5 7 7 Q m 4 m m m. w 3 Q a 4- I 6 I c V\ INVEN-TOR. 6428011 0:11 41/115? By :1 FAAK75 NBEC/(fk y 2 1950 c. or; v. MILLER si- AL. 2,516,475

IETHOD AND APPARATUS FOR cwmuc sli mmc FRAMES Filed Jan; 10, 1949 8 Shets-Sheet 4 I N V EN TOR. oweazz our Mane a nu NC/S M eta 5e ATTOfA/[KS y 5, 1950 c. as v. MILLER ET Al. 2,516,475

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CLEANING SPINNING FRAMES Filed Jan. 10. 1949- 8 Shoets4he0t 6 0022041 K Mlllfe BY & mama 1v. Bic/me @124? July 5, 1950 c. as v. MILLER :1- m.

METHOD'ANUAPPARATUS FOR CLEANING SPINNING FRAMES Filed Jan. I'q, '1949 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 July 25; 1950 c. DE v. MILLER ET AL 2,516,475

IIETHOD ANDAPPARA'I'US FOR cuzmmc SPINNING mums Filed Jan. 10, 1949 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Q \9 Ti Q Cl] *BL E INVENTORJ CABEOZZ D!!! M/LZEE LIN x rzn/vc/s N Etc (2 i 65217 TM Patented July 25, 1950 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CLEANING SPINNING FRAMES Carroll de V. Miller, Rocky River, and Francis N. Becker, Cleveland, Ohio, assignors to The American Monorail Company, Cleveland, Ohio,

a corporation of Ohio Application January 10, 1949, Serial No. 70,016

40 Claims.

This invention relates to the art of making thread or yarn from fibres of cotton, wool, plastics including rayon, nylon and mixtures of two or more of such fibres, and is particularly concerned with a new method and new means for preventing the accumulation of short fibres on the spinning frame parts, i. e. cleaning and maintaining clean said parts.

The preparation of fibres for spinning consists generally of cleaning and blanding the fibres and then drawing them out through many operations so that the individual fibres tend to become parallel and to form endless, slightly twisted rope-like strands generally known as roving. This roving is drawn through the drafting rolls of the spinning frames and there is twisted and spun at high velocity. During this twisting and spinning the short broken fibres and any insecurely retained longer flbres, known as fly or lint, tend to be thrown out to float in the air and settle on various parts of the spinning machines, particularly within the underframes thereof. In these places fly accumulations are a serious problem because their removal is expensive and results in a certain substantial amount of fly winding up in the yarn as gouts and slubs which cause weakness, breakage and loss of yarn product, while failure to remove such accumulations involves the hazard of destructive flash fires.

Ever since spinning frames were first used the problem of removing lint from them or preventing its accumulation on them has existed and many proposals have been made to solve this problem. However, none of the proposals has been entirely satisfactory, so far as we know.

Air streams could theoretically be used to efl'ect the desired cleaning but the problem of generating such streams and delivering them against all the parts in the underframe to be cleaned has apparently been insoluble. A continuous strong blast of air is far too expensive to use in this way, the quantity of air and the pressure required being enormous because of the dimensions of the ordinary spinning machine. A traveling air stream could not be applied effectively from outside the frame and severe space limitations within the frame made any known traveling air stream generating and/or directing means entirely impracticable.

One device which was developed during this time to prevent the accumulation of lint on the tops of spinning machines is described and claimed in the Lawrence and Szekeley Patent No. 2,175,608. As is shown in this patent, a blower 2 was propelled along a track above a line of spinning machines and air was blown down over those machines in such a, way as to blow lint off the tops of the creel boards and green boards and on down toward the floor where it was per- Patent No.- 2,128,207, wherein a shaft which extends longitudinally oi the machine within the underframe and which drives the spinning spindle tapes was provided at intervals therealong with fan blades, the thought being that the rotation of the fan blades would create disturbances in the air within the underframes suflicient to prevent the accumulation of lint on the underframe and its parts. So far as we know, this device was quite ineffective and impractical and has never been put in commercial use.

Another proposal is shown in Linder Patent No. 1,982,997, wherein a manifolds is supplied with air under pressure and this air is allowed to escape through a plurality of nozzles against the spindles. This device never went into commercial use, so far as we are aware.

Despite the many proposals for underframe cleaning, all underframes are now cleaned manually. The frames are shut down and workmen with brooms and brushes and air jets attempt to dislodge the lint from the underlrame parts. Much of the lint so dislodged floats about in the air until given an opportunity to come to rest and some of it thus finds its way back to the underframes. This manner of cleaning is expensive in labor and lost production time of the machine and the results are far from satisfactory.

The present invention provides a method and apparatus which are quite effective in keeping the underframe and its parts substantially free from material accumulations of lint, which is accommodated within the limited space confines of the underframe without any substantial alterations in the construction thereof, which can be readily installed in already constructed spinning machines and even more readily incorporated in new machines and which makes it unnecessary to shut down the spinning machine for underframe cleaning. In one or its modifications where the used to clean the creels and the upper exposed parts of the frame. In another modification where used with spinning frames in which the upper side of the underframe is open, the invention may'serve to clean not only the underframe but also the creels, thereby making unnecessary the use of the overhead cleaner of the aforesaid patent.

The present invention is based on the principle of directing air outwardly from within the underi'rame of a spinning machine automatically, repeatedly, at short intervals and at considerable velocity against substantially all the working parts thereof successively or in any other predetermined order. In on of its simplest forms this invention provides a continuous, axially short stream of air which rotates about an axis extending longitudinally of the underframe and reciprocates between the ends of the machine, thereby tracing a spiral path while moving toward one end of the machin and a difi'erent spiral path when returning to the other end of the machine. This stream keeps the underframe parts substantially free from "fly and, when the frame is open at the top, also keeps the creels free from fly. It has been observed that the traveling stream of air of this invention not only prevents accumulation of lint as aforesaid, but rolls the lint over and over on the floor so that it is brought into a relatively compact condition in which it can be readily removed by brooms or other means.

In another form of the invention, air under pressure is supplied to a rotating tube extending lengthwise of, and within, the underframe and this air is discharged through successive, longitudinally short portions or this tube.

The rotation of the air stream directing means and of the air stream themselves may, in accordance with this invention, either be continuous or intermittent, the important and controlling factor being the frequency with which such streams are delivered againstaa given surface to be cleaned. Thus, instead of describing a helical or spiral path with either a continuous single air stream or a plurality of separate individual air streams, a series of radially spaced streams may be defined for the same results, as by tiirning the streams in a series of steps through a number of small angles around an axis extending generally longitudinally of a spinning machine frame.

. Various means may be provided for carrying out this method and several of these means are illustrated herein.

Tests carried out with devices embodying the present invention have shown that the machines may run for much longer lengths of time without shutting down for cleaning than was ever possible heretofore, that a much higher grade of thread can be made from the same raw material and with the same attention and speed of production and that thread can be produced at a much higher production rate because of the greatly reduced numbers of thread breakage in the spinning frame due to accumulations of lint becoming entangled with the threads and in corresponding breakage in subsequent machines.

The present invention will be better under stood by those skilled in theart from a considera- 4 tion of the drawings which accompany and form a part of this specification anddn which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary, side elevational view of a conventional cotton thread spinning machine, showing means for creating a traveling stream of air disposed within the underframe and beneath the green board of the machine, and diagrammatically illustrating filter screen cleaning means;

Figure 2 is a vertical, cross-sectional view of the machine of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the air stream producing device combined with a spinning machine ofthe umbrella type from which the green boards have been removed;

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of a preferred form of air stream producing device embodying the present invention and suspension means therefor;

. Figure 5 is an end elevational view of the device of Fig. 4;

Figure 6 is a vertical, longitudinal sectional view of the Fig. 4 device with the end portions, including the inlet air filter screens, broken away;

Figure 7 is a view taken on line 'l-l' of Fig. 6 with certain small parts omitted for clarity;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of a portion of the structure shown in Fig. '7, but including the clutch and other parts omitted in said figure;

Figures 9 and 10 are views similar to Figs. 4 and 5, but showing a modified form of the air stream creating means;

Figures 11 and 12 are views similar to Figs. 4 and 5, but showing still another modified form of the air stream creating device;

Figure 13 is a vertical, longitudinal sectional view of a screen cleaning devic of one form of this invention showing a screen of a Fig. 4 type cleanerin position for the cleaning operation;

Figure 14 is a fragmentary plan view of another form of underframe cleaner of this invention;

Figure 15 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of the cleaner of Fig. 14;

Figure 16 is a vertical sectional view of the device of Fig. 15 fig r Figure 1'7 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a spinning frame equipped with still another underframe cleaning device;

Figure 18 is a side elevational view of still another cleaner of this invention, generally resembling that shown in Fig. 4;

Figure 19 is an end view of the cleaner of Fig. 18, a portion of the rotating means for the blower housings showing; and

Figure 20 is an end view partial section taken on line 2c 2o of Fig. 19.

Figs. 1 and 2 show parts of a conventional spinning m'achine S with which the apparatus embodying the present invention is combined. The machine shown in these figures comprises an underframe l which stands on the floor and has green boards G at the top. Creel boards 2 are provided with roving bobbins R disposed above the green boards. A tape driving drum T extends lengthwise of underi'rame i and is mounted in bearings at spaced intervals. Along opposite sides of the underframe are disposed vertical spindles V to which may be attached thread bobbins on which the thread is wound. Spindles V are rotated by tapes 3 which are driven by drum T. Drafting rolls 0 for drawing the roving from bobbins R above green boards G are positioned taken on line l6i6 of said along the top side edges of the underframe. These rolls draft the roving which is thereafter twisted and fed to the spindles along the side of the machine. Roll tensioning means include weights W positioned beneath the green boards and suspended from the end of tensioning levers. A tape tightening device is shown at X.

As shown in these figures, one form of cleaner embodying the present invention is disposed within the underframe nearly on its longitudinal centerline-and just above the horizontal throw of the spindle driving tapes. It is supported by a trolley track running from end to end of the underframe and can run along the track for substantially its full length. It will be understood that other types of cleaners embodying the present invention may be substituted for the particular species illustrated in these figures. Similarly, it will be understood that the cleaner here illustrated may be used with other types of spinning machines, for example, that shown in Fi 3.

Figure 3 shows a spinning machine U of the so-called umbrella type. The underframe 4 of Fig. 3 is quite like that in Fig. 2, substantially the only difference being that two tape tighteners 5 are used instead of one as in Fig. 2.

The upper side of underframe 4 of Fig. 3 is substantially devoid of green boards or other covers. Roving bobbins N are suspended from their upper ends in roller bearing supports 6 and all these bobbins are supported by a small number of vertical posts 1 which are carried by spaced cross members 8 at the top of the underframe. In Fig. 3 a cleaner embodying the present invention is shown as being located on substantially the horizontal centerline of the underframe and just above tapes 3 so that, as in the case of the apparatus of Fig. 1, air from the moving tapes or the moving tapes themselves may be used to remove lint from the air intake screen of the cleaner, as will presently be described in some detail. It will be understood that cleaners embodying the present invention other than the type specifically shown in Fig. 3 may be substituted for the one there shown.

The cleaning device of this-invention, as illustrated in several different forms in Figs. 4, 9 and 11, generally comprises a rotatable, apertured, hollow body to receive and convey air and direct the air in a stream in a predetermined path in its flow from the body, and means for rotating the body as the air is thus discharged therefrom. An air inlet opening is provided usually in one end of the body but suitably in the side thereof, while an exhaust vent or plurality of vents are provided in either the side or the end of the body, and suitable means are asso ciated with the body for continuously introducing air thereinto through the inlet opening and .delivering an air stream outwardly through the vent or vents at an angle to the rotational axes of the body. In the forms of the invention illustrated in these drawings, the air inlet openings' are in one end of each of the bodies, and blower meansv serves both to draw air into the bodies and to force it therefrom, being disposed either in the body' itself or in another housing or vessel communicating with the body, as indi cated in Fig. 9. A principal difference between the two general types herein shown is in the location of the exhaust vents. In one case (Figs. 4 and 11) the vent is at the side rather than in the end of the body and is relatively long and narrow or slot-like, while in the other form (Fig. 9) the vent is in the reduced end of the body and is of substantially circular cross-section and in the nature of a Venturi orifice. Another difference between these two types of cleaners is that by the latter one, the air streams are directed at substantially the same angle toward the underframe portions to be cleaned, while the air streams discharged by the former flow at different angles, i. e. counter to each other, overcoming any tendency for shadow effects to develop and prevent the effective cleaning of the underframe.

Cleaners A, B and C of Figs. 4, 9 and 11, respectively, are all fully automatic and preferably so disposed and supported as to travel a course of predetermined length extending lon-' gitudinally of a spinning machine S, as indicated in Fig. 1. Cleaner A is preferable in most cases to the others and is made up generally of a pair of spaced apart, rotatable, involute blower housings l0 having exhaust vents II in their sides and air inlet openings l2 (Fig. 5) at their remote opposite ends which communicate with the atmosphere through air filter screens ll fastened to the ends of housings l0. These screens have imperforate bands Ma extending across their central sections from one edge to the other to facilitate removal of lint accumulations as will subsequently be described. An impeller wheel I5 is disposed within each housing, and, by mechanism to be described, these wheels are driven in opposite directions by a single motor I! located between them, or, if desired, by two independent motors (not shown), to achieve the. shadow elimination result aforementioned. Wheels 15 may alternatively be rotated in the same direction where shadow efiects are more or less inconsequential, in which case a single motor will preferably be provided. Motor l1 and a drive roller l8 to engage a monorail track 28 and drive the cleaner therealong are associated with mechanism subsequently to be described for reversing the rotation of roller I8 and the direction of travel of the cleaner. Motor I1 and the said mechanism are enclosed in a cylindrical shell I9 having open ends adjacent to housings l0 and suitable openings in its upper portion to receive parts of: the suspension means and reversing lever, to be described, as well as roller l8. Cleaner A is suspended from monorail track 20 by means of the usual current collector wheeled trucks 22 fastened to motor castings 23 and gear box castings 24 disposed in the midsection of the cleaner between the housings l8 and constituting with a reversing gear box 25 the supporting framework of the cleaner. Track 20 is of the type disclosed and claimed in our copending patent application Ser. No. 70,788, filed January 13, 1949.

The operating mechanism of cleaner A is illustrated in detail in Figs. 6,- 7 and 8, from which it is clear that motor H drives impeller wheels l5, blower housings l0 and roller l8 through a drive shaft 28 extending from opposite sides of the motor. This shaft 28 adjacentto its right extremity is keyed to the right impeller and is journalled on ball bearings 29 in motor casting 23 and in gear box 24, and between said extremity a spring 35. Shaft 33 further is provided with a worm 38 adjacent to one end with which is engaged a worm gear 39 keyed to a shaft 48 extending lengthwise of the cleaner and carrying pinions 4| at its opposite ends adjacent to housings I 8. At its other end shaft 33 carries a gear wheel 43 of relatively small diameter and between worm gear 32 and gear 43 the shaft is journalled on ball bearings 44 carried by the gear box 24. A spider plate 45 carried pivotally by the said gear box in turn carries a rotatable, relatively large diameter gear wheel 45 and three idler gears 41 of reduced diameter, two Of WhiCh are associated together in a pair with one of the pair constantly meshing with gear 45 while the other is movable into and out of engagement with driver gear 43 as spider 45 is pivoted in one direction. The third gear 41 operates independently of said gear pair and engages the driver gear when the spider is pivoted the other way, and being on the opposite side of the said driver gear from the said gear pair causes a reversal of the large gear rotation. Completing this gear train is a gear 49 of intermediate size above and meshing with gear 45 and a smaller gear 58 coaxial and rotatable with gear 49 and meshing with a final gear keyed to a shaft 52 on which roller I8 is carried.

A trip lever 52 is pivoted to the upper portion of gear box 24 and extends upwardly therefrom for engagement with a stop near either end of the monorail track 29. Lever 52 also is connected to the spider by means of toggle 53 so that the spider is pivoted to disengage one of the idler gears 41 from driver gear 43 and to engage the other idler gear therewith to reverse the direction of travel of the cleaner.

Housings Ill carry in their opposing ends gears 54 which mesh with pinions 4| whereby said housings are both rotated in the same direction at substantially the same rate, which, however, is somewhat reduced by comparison with the rate of rotation of shaft 28 and impeller wheels IS.

The left impeller wheel I5 is keyed to a shaft 55 spaced from and coaxial with shaft 28 and journalled like shaft 28 in roller bearings 55 supported by the gear box 25. At their opposing ends these two shafts carry gears 51 of about the same pitch diameter, and one of these meshes with one of two matched gears 58 keyed to shaft 58a located above shafts 28 and 55. The other gear 58 meshes with still another gear 59 which engages the other gear 51 on shaft 55. By this arrangement a reversal of direction of rotation of shaft 55 and left wheel I5 with respect to shaft 28 and the right wheel is accomplished without loss of balance.

' Cleaner B of Fig. 9 comprises a pair of spaced apart, funnel-shaped, rotatable bodies 5|! having their enlarged ends disposed within a nonrotatable cylindrical sheet metal shell 5| of approximately the same diameter as said ends. A pair of turbo blowers 52 (one shown) located in shell 5| on opposite sides of the slotted portion thereof are driven by electric motors 54 by power taken from a conventional monorail track assembly 55 by the usual means, the cleaner B being suspended from the said track by a pair of wheeled trucks 51 and a yoke 58 depending therefrom and bolted to two brackets 59 welded to the upper portion of shell 5| near its ends. Trucks 51, current collectors II and upper portion of yoke 58 are enclosed in a housing 12 which is substantially co-extensive with rail 55 and 8 closed at its ends in the usual way to prevent fouling of these parts with lint and fly.

Intermediately of bodies 59 and between each turbo blower 52 and said slotted portion of the shell, a constriction 13 of the air flow-way through the shell is defined so that air drawn into the shell through said slots flows axially into the central portion of each blower 52. An air stream of substantial velocity is produced by each of these blowers and directed into the opposed enlarged ends of bodies 50 to flow therethrough and out of the small remote ends thereof. As two air streams are thus discharged from the ends of the cleaner, the bodies are rotated about the longitudinal axis of the cleaner and on their own major axes by means of sheaves l4 keyed to blocks 15 rotatably carrying bodies 59 on bearings l5. Adjacent to the ends of the cleaner a pair of brackets 11 are secured to shell 5| by screws 18 to support two pairs of horizontally disposed sheaves 19 disposed on opposite sides of each sheave l4 and opposite the top and bottom portions thereof, as illustrated in Fig. 9. A cable 8|!- enters the left bracket through an aperture 8| in the upper portion thereof and is turned 90 around the upp r sheave 19 to run through an aperture in shell 5 l, and engage and rotate sheave 14. Cable 88 then runs through another aperture in the shell, around. the lower sheave and to the opposite end of the cleaner where the same general course is traced again with the result that the other sheave I4 is rotated, and finally the cable leaves the cleaner through an aperture in the lower portion of the second bracket 11. Any suitable mechanical or manual means (not illustrated) may be provided to draw up the cable and thereby drive the cleaner along the length of the spinning machine and the underframe thereof, the ends of the cable being attached to the cleaner. travel should be automatically reversed when the cleaner reaches either end of its predetermined course, any conventional motor reversing mechanism being suitable.

Cleaner C shown in Fig. 11 is generally more like that shown in Fig. 4 than the cleaner of Fig. 9 in. that it is a self-driving unit in which motor 83 serves to propel the cleaner along its predetermined course, to deliver the desired air stream and to turn these streams constantly to accomplish the desired cleaning, The blowers again comprise impeller wheels (not shown) disposed in rotatable involutehousings 84 at each end of the cleanerhaving axial air inlet openings enclosed by filter screens 85 provided with imperforate strip portions 85 extending across their control sections as described above in reference to screens l4. Unlike the other. two cleaners, however, this one has no central shell or cowl to prevent fouling of the moving elements of the cleaner. Gears (not shown) of the same general form, arrangement, size and function as these in gear box 24 of cleaner A are, however, enclosed and protected by means of ashell 92. I

The suspension means of cleaner 0 corresponds closely to that described in connection with Fig. 9, comprising a monorail track 94, a pair of monotractor suspension trucks 95 carried thereby and having yokes 95 secured to the motor and the gear shell 92 by means of brackets 91 projecting from these parts. Track assembly 99, like that shown in Fig. 10, which extends the full length of the travel course of the cleaner and is closed at its ends, has an under portion comprising two longitudinally extending spaced apart beads 90 The direction of this for engagement with a drive roller I02, as indi cated in Fig. 12. Motor 90 propels the cleaner through roller I02 by means of a drive shaft I03 and a reversible gear train as shown in Fig. 6, a U-shaped trip lever I05 being associated with train for engagement with stops (not shown) near either end of the cleaner runway to change the direction of cleaner travel. Housings 04 are rotated in the same, rather than opposite, directions by means of a shaft I01 drawn by shaft I03 and having pinions I08 disposed at its ends in engagement with gears IIO carried by housings 04.

At each end of the cleaners course in an underframe, means are provided in accordance with this invention to clean the filter screens, 1. e. screens I4, for instance. This means may take various forms such as indicated in Fig. 1 and in Fig. 13, the former constituting a system while the latter is a stationary element. Said system includes a hose I20 connecting a let I22 with a source of air under pressure (not shown), and a valve operated by a lever I24 disposed for engagement with a portion of the cleaner, screen I4 for instance, whereby air is released through the jet to wipe lint accumulations from the screen. The valve may be of any desirable form and construction and may be located in either the jet or hose I20, but is of the self-closing type either by virtue of spring means in the valve itself or attached to lever I24 outside the valve.

The Fig. 13 device comprises in general a box I25 open at its ends to receive one end of cleaner A including screen I4 and housing I0, and a pair of thin on-edge bailles I26 defining helical sections in the box. With the box secured to the machine in predetermined position by means of a hanger fitting I28, cleaner A terminates its travel in one direction by entering box I25 until a portion of its screen I4 extends beyond'baflles I26 and closely approaches the opposite open end of said box. The combined baffling effects of bailles I26 and the walls of the box and the rotational motion of housing I result in such air currents and eddies as will produce the thorough removal of lint and the like from screen I4, stripping accumulations of such materials away starting from the imperforate band I4a of the screen. Furthermore, due to the volume and speed of flow of air delivered into box I25 by the cleaner, no special additional means need be provided to remove lint, etc. from the box.

The application of these cleaners to spinning machine S for the purpose of cleaning and maintaining clean underframe I20 of the machine is accomplished by suspending the cleaner in the upper portion of the underframe suitably on track 20 attached to said upper portion by means of bolts I23 (Fig. Electrical connections for delivering electric power to the motors of the cleaner through the tracks are made in the usual manner, and since both these connections and the electrical power source are preferably con-' ventional and in no way constitute a part of this invention, they are not illustrated herein. Best results are obtained where the cleaner is disposed above the spindle driving belts I22 but close enough to these belts so that filter screens I4 are cleaned and maintained clean at all times during the operation by vibratory action of the belts and the turbulence in the air surrounding them, thus eliminating the necessity for special screen cleaning means such as described above. In. the umbrella type spinning machine (Fig. 3) the green boards are removed so that the air streams flowing The cleaner shown in Figs. 14, 15 and 16 com-'- I prises a tube I40 extending lengthwise of the spinning frame and having an elongated slot MI and an open end I42 preferably screened for air intake. The tube further has a closed end 144 provided with a small axial aperture and a curtain I45of flexible material such as rubber extending lengthwise within the tube and attached along one edge to the tube adjacent to the slot I4I to close the slot against air flow therethrough. Adjacent to end I42 a sheave I45 is fastened to the tube for rotation therewith by means of a tape or belt (not shown) driven by a tape drum of the spinning frame such as described above. A speed reduction unit may be provided between the said drum and tube I40. A centrifugal fan I49 is disposed within the open end of the tube and carried on a shaft I50 journalled on a bearing I5I supported by the spinning frame. A pulley I52 is keyed to the shaft between tube I40=and bearing I5I and is suitably driven by mea'nsof the tape driving drum and a belt-0r tape with a speed "increasing unit, if required, being disposed in the system to give the required rotational speed to fan I49. A Jet nozzle I55 is disposed within the tube for reciprocating travel therein as a stream of air is delivered toward the nozzle by the centrifugal fan. A stationary, nonrotatable, helical groove drive I51, hereinafter referred to as a Yankee screw," extending lengthwise of the tube and having an end portion I58 of reduced thickness and substantially square cross-section; projecting through the axial aperture of end '4 and being received and held against rotation in a recess in supporting structureof the spinning frame, supports the nozzle and causes the reciprocating travel theerof. .The end of the Yankee screw within the tube is of reduced diameter and disposed within a recess provided in the end of shaft I50. In the operation of'this Fig. 14 device with tube I40 rotating relatively slowly and the centrifugal fan being driven at a speed sufficient to produce thedesired air stream in the tube, the nozzle is driven lengthwise of the tube, the end of the nozzle being disposed around the curtain and communicating with the atmosphere through slot I4I. The jet nozzle travels lengthwise of the tube and pulls back portions of the curtain successively so that a stream of air issues from the tube constantly and describes over a period of time a plurality of helical paths within the underframe of the spinning machine in which the cleaner is'installed. The curtain is sumciently flexible so that once the nozzle has been moved beyond a given point the curtain at that point returns to its'original position, sealing that particular portion of the tube slot.

The cleaner shown in Fig. 17 is'a substantial duplicate of that disclosed and claimedin Easley Patent No, 2,179,976, issued November 14, 1939, but is of much smaller scale throughout in order that it may. be installed in a spinning machine underframe as this figure indicates. The monorail track I60 upon which this cleaner is carried is suspended from the upper portion I6I of the underframe and disposed approximately along the longitudinal centerline thereof. 'lhecleaneritselfincludestheusualparts such as a main frame Ill suspended from wheels Ill which run on track Ill. A main driving motor Ill is provided on one end of the main frame to drive a vertically disposed fan Ill and the cleaner itself by means of a chain and sprocket drive arrangement indicated at Ill. A second motor I'Il horizontally mounted is provided to driveafanfordirectinganairstream againsta conical deflector III to give the desired air flow condition within the underframe to eflect the cleaning thereof. Reversal for this cleaner may be provided in accordance with the description of the apparatus of Fig. 4. Thus, in the operation of the present device travel of the cleaner and hence the air streams generated thereby will be reciprocal between the ends of the underframe spinning machine. By adjusting the speed with which the cleaner is driven the frequency of the striking of a given portion of the underframe with an air stream to effect cleaning thereof can be fixed within relatively wide limits to achieve the desired results.

The cleaner illustrated in Figs. 18 to 20, inclusive, is designed to carry out the method of this invention stated above which comprises generally the step of intermittently and successively turning the frame cleaning air stream through a small angle and a series of angles around an axis extending generally longitudinally of a spinning machine frame. This particular device is very well adapted to this purpose and at the same time bears a rather close resemblance to the cleaner of Fig. 4, and its operation is fully automatic. Thus, this cleaner comprises a pair of rotatable, involute blower housings Ill spaced apart from each other and having exhaust vents III in their sides and a pair of inlet openings Ill at their remote opposite ends. These housings ill are connected together as illustrated in Fig. 6 for rotation in the same direction about a common axis by means of a shaft ll which, however, is not operatively associated with the motor of the cleaner or otherwise positiveiy driven. In place of the screens ll of cleaner A, these housings Ill are each provided with a ring Ill of substantially the same circumference as the housings and having a serrated surface faced away. from the cleaner for engagement with stationary indexing means Ill carried by the frame of the spinning machine indicated at B. These rings are attached in any suitable manner to the outer surfaces of the housings and are of such width as not to interfere with'the flow of air through openings Ill. Indexing means Ill comprises two opposing tapered lingers Ill disposed at points adjacent to the opposite ends of a predetermined course of I travel of the cleaner in the underframe of the spinning machine in such a way as to engage the teeth of the serrated rings and force the {rings and housings to turn through a small angle upon each such engagement. These fingers, like the cleaner itself, depend from a monorail track ll but are related to each other and the cleaner so as to assure the turning of .the cleaner, as described above, each time .the cleaner traverses the said predetermined course.

As in cleaner A, impeller wheels it are provided within the involute housings and are driven in the same or opposite directions by a single motor or by two independent motors located between said wheels. The drive roller ll is provided to engage the track ll and again is driven by means of the motors, or one of them,

and whatever searing is provided is enclosed with the other driving mechanism including the motor in the cylindrical shell Il. The usual reversin mechanism described above and including lever l2 extending through a slot in the top of housing I l is provided for the purpose, and operated in the manner, described above. The suspension means of the cleaner comprises the usual current collector wheeled trucks 2!, while the suspension means for the indexing lingers IlI constitutes a pair of brackets Ill secured as by wheels to track other of the fingers Ill, whereby the housings Ill,

7 which are connected together as described above but not otherwise positively driven, are turned on their common axis a distance equivalent to approximately half the length of one of the serrations or teeth of rings Ill. Thus, as shown in Fig. 20, over a number ofstrokes or traverses of the cleaner over its course the housings are turned in -a series of angles and sequences and air streams are consequently periodically delivered against any given portion of the spinning machine underframe to be cleaned at such a frequency as to maintain the desired cleaning effect thereof. Because of the short length of the teeth compared to the width of the exhaust vents Ill there is a substantial overlapping of the separate streams and the period of a given stream is relatively long. Therefore, by varying the size, i. e. the length of these teeth, the frequency with which a given portion of the underframe is struck with a lintremoving air stream may be regulated. Also, by varying the width of the exhaust vents Ill the extent of overlapping of separate streams and the length of the contact period between the lint-removing air streams and a given portion of the frame may be regulated.

Having thus described the present invention so that those skilled in the art may be able to understand and practice the same, we state that what we desire to'secure by Letters Patent is defined in what is claimed. What is claimed is:

1. A cleaner for a textile machin comprising a hollow body disposed longitudinally within the underframe of said machine, said body having an inlet for air, and nozzle means for directing a stream of air outwardly therefrom against a longitudinally short portion of the sides of the underframe to dislodge lint therefrom.

2. A cleaner for a textile machine comprising a hollow body disposed longitudinally within the underframe of said machine, said body having an inlet for air, nozzle means for directing a stream of air outwardly therefrom against a longitudinally short portion of the side of said underframe to dislodge lint therefrom, and means for rotating said nozzle means and thereby bringing said air stream against a circumferential, longitudinally short portion of the sides and top of the under-frame.

3. A cleaner for a textile machine comprising a hollow body disposed longitudinally within the underframe of said machine, said body having an inlet for air, nozzle means for directing a stream of air outwardly therefrom against a longitudinally short portion of said underframe to dislodge lint therefrom, and means for reciprocating said nozzle means longitudinally of the under- S's frame and thereby bringing said air stream suc- 13 cessively against a plurality of said short portions of the underframe.

4. A cleaner for a textile machine comprising a hollow body disposed longitudinally within the underframe of said machine, said body having an inlet for air, nozzle means for directing a stream of air outwardly therefrom against longitudinally short portions of the sides of said underframe to dislodge lint therefrom, means for rotating said nozzle means and means for reciprocating said nozzle means longitudinally of the underframe and throughout substantially its full length.

5. A cleaner for a textile machine comprising a pair of generally funnel shaped, open-ended bodies to be disposed adjacent to the machine rotatable on their axes and having nozzles disposed at an acute angle to the longitudinal centerline of said bodies, means including a cable for axially rotating said bodies simultaneously, and means including an electric motor between the bodies for constantly delivering air streams outwardly through said nozzles and against parts of said machine as the bodies are rotated.

6. A cleaner for a textile machine comprising a hollow body disposed longitudinally within the underframe of said machine, said body having an inlet for air, nozzle means for directing outwardly therefrom a small stream of air moving at a velocity high enough to remove lint from the side of the underframe, and means for bringing said stream successively against substantially all parts of the sides of the underframe.

7. The combination of a spinning frame having an underframe portion open at its top throughout substantially its full length, and a cleaner in the underframe for cleaning said underframe and creel thereabove, said cleaner including means to direct a stream of air against the sides of the underframe and up through the top opening progressively from substantially end to end of the underframe.

8. The combination of a spinning frame having an underframe portion open at its top throughout substantially its full length, and a' cleaner in the underframe for cleaning saidunderframe and creel thereabove, said cleaner comprising blower means carried by the frame for conveying a stream of air and directing said stream outwardly against said underframe and upwardly through the top thereof against the creel.

9. The combination of a spinning frame having an underframe portion open at its top throughout substantially its full length, and a cleaner in the underframe for cleaning said underframe and the creel thereabove, said cleaner comprising blower means carried by the frame for conveying a stream of air and directing said stream outwardly against the sides of the underframe and up through the top thereof, and means for rotating the blower means and thereby successively moving said stream through the top across the creel and across the sides of the underframe.

10. The combination of a spinning frame having an underframe portion open at its top throughout substantially its full length, and a cleaner in the underframe for cleaning said underframe and the creel thereabove, said cleaner comprising a body rotatable on its axis and having an air inlet opening and an exhaust vent, means for rotating said body, and means associated with the body for continuously introducing air into said body through said inlet opening and delivering an air stream outwardly through said vent at an angle to the rotational axis of the body I associated with the body for continuously introducing air into said body through said inlet opening and delivering an air stream outwardly through said vent at an angle to the rotational axis of the body.

. 12. The combination of a spinning frame having an underframe portion open at its top throughout substantially its full length, and a cleaner in the underframe for cleaning said underframe and the creel thereabove, said cleaner comprising a body rotatable on its axis and having an air inlet opening and an exhaust vent, means for intermittently rotating said body, and means associated with the body for continuously introducing air into said body through said inlet openingand delivering an air stream outwardly through said vent at an angle to the rotational axis of the body.

13. The combination of a spinning frame having an underframe portion open at its top throughout substantially its full length, and a cleaner in the underframe for cleaning said underframe and the creel thereabove, said cleaner comprising blower means carried by the frame, means for driving the blower means reciprocally lengthwise of the said frame, and means for rotating the blower means.

14. The combination of a spinning frame having an underframe portion open at its top throughout substantially its full length, and a cleaner in the underframe for cleaning said underframe and the creel thereabove, said cleaner comprising a generally cylindrical body rotatable on its axis and having an intake opening in its 'end, means for axially rotating said body, means including a motor driven rotor in the body for constantly drawing air into the body and delivering an air stream outwardly throught said vent as the body is rotated, and means including a motor and automatic reversing mechanism for driving the cleaner reciprocally over a course of predetermined length.

15. The combination of a spinning frame and an underframe cleaner, said cleaner comprising blower means carried by and reciprocable lengthwise -of and within the underframe, said means serving to direct a substantially continuous stream of air outwardly toward the underframe, and means for rotating the blower means and moving the said stream across substantially all parts of' the underframe.

16. The combination of a spinning frame and cleaner disposed in the under portion of said frame, said cleaner comprising a body rotatable on its axis and having an air inlet opening and an exhaust vent, means for rotating said body, and means associated with the body for continu-, ously introducing air through said inlet opening and delivering an air stream outwardly through said vent at an angle to the rotational axis of the body.

1'7. The combination of a spinning frame and cleaner disposed in the under portion of the frame, said cleaner comprising blower means carried by the frame, means for driving the blower aura-m 18 means reciprocally lengthwise of the said frame, and means for rotating the blower means.

18. The combination of a spinning frame and an underframe cleaner disposed in the under portion of said frame, said cleaner comprising a pair of bodies rotatable on their axes and having air inlet openings and exhaust vents, means for rotating said bodies simultaneously, means disposed between the bodies for reciprocating the bodies together lengthwise oi. the frame, and means associated with the bodies for constantly delivering air streams outwardly through said vents at an angle to the rotational axes as the bodies are rotated.

19. The method of removing lint and fly from parts of a spinning machine which comprises the steps of substantially continuously directing air under pressurev outwardly from within and against successive longitudinally short portions of the underframe of the machine, and periodically bringing such air into contact with substantially all parts of the underframe throughout substantially its full length. I

20. The method of cleaning the underframe of a spinning machine which comprises the steps of producing a substantially continuous air stream of generally helical form in said underirame, and automatically periodically striking successive portions of the underirame with the stream.

21. The method of cleaning the underframe of a spinning machine which comprises the steps of producing a substantially continuous air stream in said underframe, directing said stream at parts of the underframe' to be cleaned, and moving said stream in a helical path lengthwise of the frame and striking said parts with the stream.

22. The method of cleaning the underframe of a spinning machine which comprises the steps of producing a substantially continuous air stream in said underirame, directing said stream at parts of the under-frame to be cleaned, moving said stream a, predetermined distance in a helical path toward one end of the frame and then moving" the stream a predetermined distance in a helical path toward the other end of the frame.

23. The method of cleaning the underframe of a spinning machine which comprises the steps of producing a substantially continuous air stream in said underframe, directing said stream at parts of the underframe to be cleaned, recipro- 26. The method of cleaning the underframe oi a spinning machine which comprises the steps of producing a substantially continuous air stream in said underframe, turning the stream intermittently and successively through a series of angles around an axis extending generally longitudinally of said machine, and moving said stream lengthwise of the frame.

27. The method of cleaning the underirame of a spinning machine which comprises the steps oi producing a substantially continuous air stream in said underframe, turning the stream intermittently and successively through a series of angles around. an axis extending generally longitudinally of said machine, and simultaneously reciprocating said stream lengthwise of the frame over a course of predetermined length.

28. Themethod of cleaning the underframe of a spinning machine which comprises the steps of producing a substantially continuous air stream in said underframe, reciprocating said stream lengthwise of the frame over a course otpredetermined length, and on each traverse of the frame by the stream automatically turning said stream through asmall angle in a. series of angles around an axis extending generally longitudinally of the machine.

29. The method of removing lint'and fly from parts of a spinning machine which comprises the steps oi directing air under pressure outwardly from within the underframe of the machine, and striking portions of said machine with said air in the form of separate, successive and overlapping streams.

30. The method of removing lint and fly from the underframe and creel of a spinning machine which comprises the steps of directing air under pressure outwardly from within the underframe and through the top of said underframe, and

periodically bringing'such air into contact with substantially all parts of the underframe and creel.

eating said stream lengthwise of the frame over a course of predetermined length, and simultaneously changing the angular direction of the stream through substantially 360 whereby a series of helical paths are defined by the stream through several changes in the direction of stream travel.

24. The methodof removing lint and fly from parts of a spinning machine which comprises the steps of directing air under pressure outwardly from within the underframe of the machine, and turning the resulting air stream intermittently and successively through a series of angles around an axis extending generally longitudinally of said machine.

25. The method of cleaning the underframe of a spinning machine which comprises the steps of producing a substantially continuous air stream in said underframe, and automatically turning the stream intermittently and successively through a series of angles around an axes extending generally longitudinally of said machine.

31. The method of cleaning the underframe and creel of a spinning machine which comprises the steps of producing a substantially continuous air stream in said underframe, directing said stream at parts of the underframe to be cleaned, directing the stream through the top of the underirame and against parts of the creel to be cleaned, and reciprocating the stream lengthwise of the frame over a course of predetermined length.

32. A cleaner for a textile machine comprising a generally cylindrical body rotatable on its axis extending lengthwise of and within the underframe of the machine and having an exhaust vent in its side and an intake opening in its end, and blower means in the body for constantly drawing air into the body and delivering an air stream outwardly through said vent and against the sides of said underframe.

33. A cleaner for a textile machine comprising a generally cylindrical body rotatable on its axis extending lengthwise of and within the underframe of the machine and having an exhaust vent in its side and an intake opening in its end, means for turning said body on its axis at predetermined intervals, and blower means in the body for constantly drawing air into the body and delivering an ,air stream outwardly through said vent and against the sides of said underframe.

34. A cleaner for a textile machine comprising a generally cylindrical body to be disposed adjacent to the machine rotatable on li axis and having an exhaust vent in its side and an intake opening in its end, means for turning said body on its axis at predetermined intervals, said turning means including a' toothed rack secured to the body for rotation therewith, and a finger to engage and turn the rack, and blower means in the body for constantly drawing air into the body and delivering an air stream outwardly through said vent and against parts of said machine.

35. The combination of a spinning frame and an under-frame cleaner carried by the frame, said cleaner including a generally cylindrical body rotatable on its axis and having an exhaust vent in its side and an intake opening in its end, blower means in the body for constantly drawing air into the body and delivering an air stream outwardly through said vent, and means for turning said body on its axis at predetermined intervals, said turning means including a toothed. rack secured to the body for rotation therewith and a finger to engage and turn the rack.

36. The combination of a spinning frame having an underframe portion open at its top throughout substantially its full length, and a cleaner in the underframe for cleaning said underirame and the creel thereabove, said cleaner comprising a pair of generally cylindrical bodies and having air inlet openings and exhaust vents, means for turning said bodies together on their axes at predetermined intervals, means disposed between the bodies for reciprocating said bodies together lengthwise of the frame, and means associated with the bodies for constantly delivering air streams outwardly through said vents at an angle to their axes, said turning means including a toothed rack secured to each body and a stationary finger opposed to each said rack and located adjacent to each end of the predetermined course of reciprocating travel of said cleaner.

37. A cleaner for a textile machine comprising a body to be disposed adjacent to the machine rotatable on its axis and having an air inlet opening on an exhaust vent, means within the body for closing said vent, means for rotating the body, means for continuously introducing air into the body through said inlet opening and delivering an air stream through said vent at an angle to the rotational axis of the body and against parts of said machine, and means within the body including a nozzle piece for opening successively portions of said vent.

38. A cleaner for a textile machine comprising a body to be disposed adjacent to the machine rotatable on its axis and having an air inlet opening and an exhaust vent, resilient means within the body and secured thereto adjacent to said vent, means for rotating the body, means for continuously introducing air into the body through said inlet opening and delivering an air stream through said vent at an angle to the rotational axis of the body and against parts of said machine, means within the body and rotatable therewith including a reciprocating nozzle piece engaging said resilient. means for opening successive portons of said vent, and means within the body and associated with the nozzle for causing reciprocation of the nozzle as the air stream flows through the body.

39. The combination of a spinning frame and an underframe cleaner carried by the frame, said cleaner comprising a generally cylindrical body rotatable on its axis and having an air inlet opening in its end and an exhaust vent along its side, means for rotating the body, means for continuously introducing air into'the body through said inlet opening and delivering an air stream through said vent at an angle to the rotational axis of the body, and means within the body including a nozzle member fOr opening successive portions of said vent.

40. The combination of a spinning frame having an underframe portion open at its top throughout substantially its full length, and a cleaner in the underfram for cleaning said underframe and the creel thereabove, said cleaner comprising a generally cylindrical body rotatable on its axis and having an air inlet opening in its end and a slot-like exhaust vent extending longitudinally along its side, sealing means for the exhaust vent including a strip of resilient material within the body and secured along one edge to said body adjacent to the vent, means for rotating the body, means for continuously introducing air into the body through said inlet opening and delivering an air stream through said Vent at an angle to the rotational axis of the body, means within the body and rotatable therewith including a reciprocating nozzle member engaging said resilient means for opening .successive portions of the vent, and means within the body and associated with the nozzle for causing reciprocation of the nozzle as the air stream flows through the body.

CARROLL on V. MILLER. FRANCIS N. BECKER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,339,182 Farrell May 4, 1920 2,183,758 Walker Dec. 19, 1939 2,325,023 Allred July 27, 1943 2,400,792 Turner May 21, 1946 2,422,514 Allen June 1'7, 1947 2,480,690 Ancet Aug. 30, 1949 2,482,670 Imbriani Sept. 20, 1949 2,488,934 Rayburn Nov. 23, 1949 Certificate of Correction Patent No. 2,516,47 5 July 25, 1950 CARROLL DE v. MILLER ET AL.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above E numbered patent requiring correction as follows:

Column 18, list of references cited, under the heading UNITED STATES PATENTS add the following- 9,128,207 Hodge "Aug. 28, 1938 line 60, for November 23, 1949 read November 22, 1949;

and that the said Letters Patent should be read as corrected above, so that the same may conform to the record of the casein the Patent ,Ofiice.

Signed and sealed this 21st day of November, A. D 1950 [SEAL] THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Commissioner of Patents. 

